BGuitars

Yeah, I was trying to find a white dye, but I guess there's no such thing lol

Start with what you have done. It doesn't look like you painted it at all in the pictures unless it's really thin paint. If you describe more what you have done and what brands you used it will be easier to answer.

For gloss you will want to spray on clear lacquer then buff. If you have access to spray equipment like a gun and air compressor use nitrocelulose lacquer, if you don't you can usually get a decent look from rattle cans. I used to use rattle cans from "Cabot" it's a lacquer made or outdoor furniture I think but I'd just spray it on then scuff sand with 220 after the first coat and do a final level sand with 500 grit then rub with steel wool for a satin finish.

If I was you get some clear lacquer and scuff sand the guitar as is with 320 grit, litterally no more than just one or two passes across the whole guitar since you just want to knock down some of the raised finish and wood fibers. If it's really rough do a little more but not much. Spray your coats then level with 500 grit completely level then spray 2-3 more coats and wet sand with 1000 then 1200 grit, wait a week then buff it either by hand or with the foam pads you get from oriellys or stewmac and a power drill.

Explain a little what you have done first though so others can help more. What are you planning on using for equipment?

Ok so what I did first was I used a rag to wipe down the wood first to raise the grain and just clean it. Then I took Rockler's transtint dye (black) mixed with water and rubbed it onto the wood with a clean rag till the whole thing was covered

Black dye

After that I used 220 grit sandpaper disc on my orbital hand sander to sand back the black but leave the black in grains.

After that I used a clean rag and spread white paint I got from home depot. Glidden moonlight white. I then applied about 2-3 coats and let dry between them. At then end if the stain looked too opaque and I couldn't see the stain. I wet the white paint rag and rubbed it on the white paint to dilute it slightly. I wanted to see the grain through the white paint.

That's as far as I got today.

Alright, so this is my 2nd guitar and I'm trying to figure out the whole finishing thing. I don't know much about painting so simple or explained answers would be helpful. I've got the stain and paint how I want it, now I want to make it shine and be glossy. Because I used paint it's slightly rough right now. I figure I need to sand it down before applying anything else. I just don't know what I should use that won't take off the paint. I've got up to a 220 grit orbital hand sander, but I figure I'll need like a 320 grit or 400 grit sandpaper and do it lightly by hand. my question is, am I on the right track and if I am what should I do next towards getting that shining finish.

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So I recently happened to decide to make my 2nd guitar. THe first one was just a old beaten up strat I bought off a friend for 50 bucks. So this time I decided I'd try and build one from scratch. I modeled it off a PRS305 with some slight changes. I wanted a white/silver/chrome color theme and for it to be a semi-hollow. Keep in mind I didn't plan on selling it, so some design oversights I can live with on this one. I wanted a white stain on the flame maple top. The body is swamp ash.

I'm still waiting on the neck from Carvin to come. I decided on the design on the right. It'll be walnut with an ebony fretboard.

I didn't build this in house because I didn't have the tools or know-how yet. I plan on adding white pearl binding when everything else is done.

I used Lace Chrome Domes for the pickups and a TonePros Tune-O-Matic Bridge/Tailpiece pack. The pickups I bought from MIJ guitars.

This is also only my 2nd build and I'm not super experienced with woodworking. So go easy.